Toy News Tuesday: Star Wars Strikes Back

Hello and welcome to yet another all new edition of Toy News Tuesday! We’re the one weekly column right here on ScienceFiction.com where we seek out all of the awesome news you need to know about any announcements and cool happenings in the toy industry and put them all in one easy to find place for you! Well, if you’re reading this then that means we both managed to survive the insanity that was ‘Force Friday’! Hopefully you managed to find all the awesome new ‘Star Wars’ merchandise you were after, and aren’t stuck too hard on finding some of the new exclusives (although we’re here to help with that this week!). Besides a ton of new ‘Star Wars’ collectibles, there were quite a few awesome new toys revealed this week! Without holding anything back, here’s the Toy News for the week of September 8th, 2015!

Make Way For More Marvel Animated Minimates!

While Wave 1 of Diamond Select Toys’ new Marvel Animated Minimates is just now hitting stores, it’s time to start preparing for Wave 1.5! That’s right, the Walgreens Exclusive series of Minimates figures is already getting a new wave before the year is out, and it’s expected to hit this holiday season! Marvel Animated Minimates Wave 1.5 is set to include four different Minimate 2-packs made up of a ton of great fan favorite characters like Ultimate Spiderman (Peter Parker) with Principle/Agent Coulson, Hulkbuster Iron Man with Ultron, Ultimate Spiderman (Miles Morales) with Ultimate Venom, and Hawkeye with Crossbones! Just like the first Wave, this set is planned to be sold exclusively at Walgreens stores when they hit the market later this year!

Time To ‘Rescue’ Your Marvel Digital Subscription

Marvel Comics and Hasbro are teaming up to give fans something truly special when they re-up their Marvel Digital subscription this year in the form of an all new 6″ Marvel Legends ‘Rescue’ figure! While Marvel Digital has offered exclusive Marvel Legends figures with subscriptions before, those were usually just repaints of previously released figures, rather than a completely new figure that had not yet seen a retail release. Aside from being the first time that they’ve offered an exclusive figure, this is also technically the first time fans are being offered a chance to snag a 6″ scale Pepper Potts figure (albeit, she is entirely armored).

Subscribers also receive a few other neat bonus items with the $99 yearly subscription to the Marvel Digital service, including an exclusive ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ and ‘Agent Carter’ two pin collectible set, three exclusive variant comics (‘Invincible Iron man #1’, ‘Captain AMerican: White #1’, and ‘Agent Carter: S.H.I.E.L.D. 50th Anniversary #1’), 10% off of Marvel merchandise at MarvelShop.com, and 15% off digital comics and collections at the Marvel Digital Comic Shop!

If you are already a subscriber, don’t worry! You are still fully eligible to receive this exlcusive Rescue figure when you re-up your subscription this year!

Hot Toys Unleashes Exclusive ‘Stealth’ Iron Man

The team over at Hot Toys has announced the new comic inspired 1:6th Scale “Stealth’ Iron Man Mark III figure! This figure is set to be a summer convention exclusive, so this is collectors’ first chance to grab one for their ‘Iron Man’ armory! Check out the release info from Hot Toys below-

The 2015 Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention – STGCC will officially start on Sep 12-13 at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore! Hot Toys is thrilled to be joining the event again this year together with our official distributor Action City!

One of the biggest news of the convention will be the world premiere of the Hot Toys 2015 Summer Exclusive – 1/6th scale Iron Man Mark III (Stealth Mode Version) Collectible Figure! Visitors at STGCC will be the first in the world to be able to purchase and bring home this unique Iron Man with comic-book inspired color scheme!

The Force Is Strong With Hot Toys

While everyone has been getting all hyped for the release of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ by snatching up all of the amazing new toys this past weekend during Force Friday and the days that followed, 1:6th scale collectors were staring at their computer screens and drooling over the amount of new toys being revealed for the film from Hot Toys! So far the team at Hot Toys have only revealed Kylo Ren and some new First Order Stormtroopers, there is a veritable mountain of new characters fans have to look forward to! In the meantime, Kylo Ren and the no less than three new Stormtrooper variations should keep us pretty happy as we wait for the rest of the film’s main character cast to be announced. Check out the full releases from Hot Toys below for their all new 1:6th Scale figures from ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

The newest installment of the Star Wars saga – Star Wars: The Force Awakens is coming to theatres worldwide this December! Star Wars fans around the world just can’t wait for December to come any sooner! But before the movie’s release, a wide range of merchandise based on this upcoming film is starting to hit the stores in September to let Star Wars enthusiasts to get ready for the film!

To kick off the long-awaited Star Wars: The Force Awakens collection, Hot Toys is very excited to present the 1/6th scale collectible figure of the mysterious main character in the upcoming movie – Kylo Ren!

Kylo Ren is a dark warrior strong with the Force and his unique self-made crossguard lightsaber has already captured all Star Wars fans’ attention upon its first reveal!

The highly-accurate collectible figure is specially crafted based on the image of Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This collectible figure features Kylo Ren’s helmet with weathering effects, meticulously crafted layers of outfit, the character’s signature crossguard lightsaber with LED light-up function and weathering effects, and a specially designed hexagonal figure stand with the First Order’s emblem!

The iconic Stormtrooper is back with a new look in the long awaited sequel of the Star Wars trilogy – Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

Although the Galactic Empire has fallen after the Battle of Endor in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, a new organization called the First Order has come to power and employs the use of Stormtroopers to execute its orders.

Today, Hot Toys is excited to introduce the 1/6th scale collectible figure of the new streamline designed First Order Stormtrooper from Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

The highly-accurate collectible figure is specially crafted based on the image of First Order Stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Force Awakens featuring the brand new designed Stormtrooper armor and helmet, highly detailed blaster rifle and pistol, and a specially designed hexagonal figure stand with the First
Order’s emblem!

In the upcoming highly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a new group called the First Order has come to power and utilizes Stormtroopers to execute its orders. These faceless enforcers are now armed with new armor, weapons and equipment to accomplish their goal.

Today, Hot Toys is delighted to present the 1/6th scale collectible figure of the new sleekly designed First Order Heavy Gunner Stormtrooper equipped with heavy artillery vest and a destructive megablaster from Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

The highly-accurate collectible figure is specially crafted based on the image of First Order Heavy Gunner Stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Force Awakens featuring the newly designed Stormtrooper armor and helmet, highly detailed and articulated megablaster, a blaster pistol, an artillery vest, and a specially designed hexagonal figure stand with the First Order’s emblem!

Star Wars fans worldwide are anxiously waiting for the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the latest installment of the epic space saga!

Although the Galactic Empire has fallen after the Battle of Endor, a new organization called the First Order has come to power and employs the use of Stormtroopers to execute its orders across the galaxy. These faceless enforcers are now armed with new armor, weapons and equipment to accomplish their goal.

Today, Hot Toys is pleased to present a 1/6th scale collectible figures set featuring the new streamline designed First Order Stormtrooper and Heavy Gunner Stormtrooper equipped with heavy artillery vest and a destructive megablaster from Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

The highly-accurate collectible figures are specially crafted based on the image of First Order Stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Each Stormtrooper features a brand new designed Stormtrooper armor and helmet. The standard First Order Stormtrooper will be equipped with a blaster rifle and blaster pistol while the First Order Heavy Gunner Stormtrooper is armed with an articulated megablaster, a blaster pistol, and an artillery vest. Two specially designed hexagonal figure stands with the First Order’s emblem are also included in the set!

The long awaited sequel of the epic Star Wars saga – Star Wars: The Force Awakens will finally hit the theatres this December! Star Wars fans around the world just can’t wait for December to come any sooner! To celebrate the upcoming release of this exciting new film, Hot Toys is pleased to present today the new 1/6th scale First Order Stormtrooper Squad Leader collectible figure from Star Wars: The Force Awakens as an exclusive item that will only be available in US, Japan, Singapore, Philippines, China, and other selected markets!

The highly-accurate collectible figure is specially crafted based on the image of First Order Stormtrooper Squad Leader in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This collectible figure features the brand new design First Order Stormtrooper armor and helmet, the white pauldron that indicates the rank of squad leader, highly detailed blasters, and a specially designed hexagonal figure stand with the First Order’s emblem!

Star Wars fans shouldn’t miss the chance to build up your First Order army with this new First Order Stormtrooper Squad Leader!

Star Wars Black Series Exclusives And Where To Find Them

The 6″ Scale ‘Star Wars Black Series’ toyline from Hasbro has been, without a doubt, the most popular new ‘Star Wars’ toyline in years! With everyone still scrambling to collect all of the new Black Series figures from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ now that they have released, it’s easy to forget that there will be a ton of awesome new exclusive figures to collect outside of the main series! Here’s the rundown on the recenently revealed “Star Wars’ exclusives-

Toys R Us is set to receive an exclusive ‘Black Series’ First Order Snowtrooper figure! He is set to hit this fall, which means it’s expected that he should be in stores any day now! With the speedy rate that Toys R Us stores are restocking the ‘Star Wars Black Series’ line after ‘Force Friday’, I can’t imagine it will be too long before this guy starts popping up! As an exclusive, it’s hard to say how long he will stay on shelves once he arrives!

Walgreens is also getting in on the 6″ Scale ‘Star Wars’ exclusives, with a special new ‘Emporers Wrath’ Darth Vader figure! This figure reuses the same mold as the previous Darth Vader release in this series, but features a special new translucent mask that shows a human skull underneath, to make it seem as though Vader is being electrocuted as he was at the end of “Return Of The Jedi’ (SPOILER ALERT for a thirty-year-old film).

Amazon is getting their own ‘Black Series’ exclusive in the form of a special army-builder Trooper 4-pack! This exclusive 6″ Scale figure 4-pack includes a Phase I Clone Trooper Commander, a Phase II Clone Trooper, an Imperial Stormtrooper, and a First Order Stromtrooper Officer. While the $80 price point isn’t anything to scoff at, it certainly is the quickest way to build up your army of imperial forces for a massive battle display!

Just in case those Troopers aren’t enough, Entertainment Earth has a special new exclusive ‘Imperial Forces’ figure 4-pack to fill out the ranks even further! This set includes a Sandtrooper Sergeant, a Crimson Stormtrooper, Lieutenant Oxixo Tie Fighter Pilot, and astromech droid R2-Q5!

With all of these excellent new exclusives to add to your 6″ Scale ‘Star Wars Black Series’ collection, it certainly seems like the Dark Side of The Force is going right after our collective wallets!

He Said He Would Be Back…

The team over at NECA has been known for kicking ass and taking names when it comes to making the ‘ultimate’ action figures based on popular genre films. Over the last few weeks we have seen announcements for ‘Ultimate’ editions of great characters like Jason Voorhees and Leatherface, and now NECA has announced at least one more ‘Ultimate’ edition figure that fans are going to be scrambling to add to their collections, the Ultimate T-800. Say “hasta la vista” to your money, because this figure looks like it has stepped right off of the moviescreen from the set of ‘Terminator 2’! He’s complete with a plethora of film specific accessories, and includes alternative parts so you can display him perfectly from most of the film’s major scenes. Check out the full gallery over at NECA’s website, and be sure to keep an eye out for this Ultimate T-800 in stores this fall!

The Truth Is Blindboxed

Titan Merchandise has announced their latest series of blindboxed vinyl figures, and this time it’s a blast of 90’s nostalgia with an ‘X-Files’ themed wave! The series currently has no set release date, but includes all of your fan favorite characters like Mulder, Scully, The Cigarette Smoking Man, The Lone Gunmen (yes, all three of them), The Flukeman, Tooms, and more! Check out the full wave lineup below!

The Loyal Subjects Teases ‘G.I.Joe’ and ‘How To Train Your Dragon’

With the insane amount of awesome vinyl figures coming our way these days, it’s hard to keep up with them all! The team over at The Loyal Subjects has been consistently known for pumping out some of the best stuff in recent years, especially with their most recent vinyl releases that sport full articulation! Now they’re looking at revamping a property they already tackled and bringing in something entirely new to the table!

First up is The Loyal Subjects ‘G.I.Joe’ Series 2! Their first series of ‘G.I.Joe’ blindboxed vinyl figures were a huge success when they first hit a few years back, but now The Loyal Subjects is heading back to the grindstone to pump out a series of larger and fully articulated vinyl figures! These look to be taking a lot of nods from the recent ‘Power Rangers’ wave, and will include a great articulation, plenty of accessories and in some cases removable helmets! So far here’s a teaser of what we can expect from the wave-

We’ve also got a look at their upcoming wave of blindbox figures based on the popular animated ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ films! We haven’t seen much yet, but if these two figures are any inclination of what to expect from the full line, it’s going to be pretty awesome!

Funko Forecast

Get ready for the Funko Forecast! This is where we’re going to be showcasing all of the cool new announcements and reveals from Funko! With all of the awesome that consistently seems to be flowing out of those guys, it shouldn’t be hard to keep this section alive each and every week!

‘The Force Awakens’ Exclusives

‘Force Friday’ has come and gone, and Funko fans have all been freaking out trying to figure out where to go to hunt down all of the exclusive POP! Vinyls that they crave! Well we’ve got the run down for you of all the ‘The Force Awakens’ exclusive POP! Vinyls and just where you have to go to get them! Here’s the rundown-

Big Announcements From Funko!

Well, big characters anyway! The team at Funko recently announced two new POP! Vinyl figures based on some of the largest sized characters pop culture has to offer!

First up is a new release of ‘The Iron Giant’ from the film of the same name! While we’ve seen this figure before, this time around he’s got a tiny car in his hand with his best pal Hogarth Hughes in it! It’s a little sad to say we aren’t getting a 6″ Super Sized POP! Vinyl out of this character, but we’re always happy to see more ‘Iron Giant’ merchandise! He is set to hit stores this October.

Then the big news, Funko has announced a 6″ Super Sized POP! of the King of the Monsters himself, Godzilla! This November, protect your tiny city playsets because this Super Sized POP! is coming to wreck everything in sight!

‘This Toy Is Based On True Events…”

Just in time for Halloween, Funko is giving you the chance to add horror icon Leatherface of ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ fame to your ReAction collection! This figure is set to hit stores any day now and includes a blood splattered apron and his signatur chainsaw!

“WHATS IN THE BOX?!”

Funko’s blindboxed Mystery Minis line is arguably their most popular toyline aside from their unstoppable POP! vinyls line, so it comes as no big surprise to see two new series of the minifigures announced!

First up is the all new Horror Series 2! This set of blindboxed vinyl minifigures includes many of your favorite horror icons like Alfred Hitchcock, The Crow, Gremlins, David from ‘The Lost Boys’, Shaun of the Dead, Beetlejuice, Pinhead, and more! These are set to hit stores this month!

Next is the first wave of a brand new series of Mystery Minis based on ‘Anime’! This set consists of characters from popular anime’s like ‘Black Butler’, ‘Attack on Titan’, ‘Soul Eater’, and more! These are expected to hit stores just in time for the holidays this November!

The Lowdown On The Latest Dorbz

Funko has a knack for coming up with the most adorable little vinyl figures we could ever even dream of wanting, so it only makes sense that they would have a line of especially adorable figures called ‘Dorbz’! Funko just announced the latest waves that are coming our way this fall!

Collectors can look forward to at least two new waves of Dorbz before the year is out, with waves based on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ and ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’! The ‘TMNT’ series is comprised of the four Turtles themselves, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael, as well as mutant enemies Beebop and Rocksteady! The new ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ wave consists of jack Skellington, Sally, Oogie Boogie, and Santa Jack!

And with that, we bring this week’s Toy News Tuesday to a close! What do you think about the new items announced this week? Do you plan on picking up anything we mentioned in this week’s column? Are there any lines or brands you’d like to see more coverage of? Let us know in the comments section below! Until next week, happy toy hunting!

Jordan DesJardins

Jordan DesJardins is a writer from Philadelphia with a passion for the collectible! Jordan is ScienceFiction's resident Toy Columnist, covering news for the Toy Industry in our weekly column 'Toy News Tuesday', as well as interviews, convention coverage, product reviews, and more! As an avid collector of both Toys and Comics, Jordan can often be found at comic conventions, or scouring the city for the latest Minimates and Funko Pops to hit the shelves!